Page 132 of Sinful

She went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. I watched him hug her tightly to his chest and whisper in her ear, to which she pulled away and kissed him gently. She went to Ashes next and offered him a kiss, which he took, deepening it quickly before abruptly breaking it off and clearing his throat.

“Have fun,” was all he said when she stepped away from him.

She came to me before taking my hand and pulling me to the door. I cast a look back at the guys to see them watching. Everything about the looks on their faces screamed their concern.

“I’ll keep her safe,” I said.

“You fucking better,” was my answer from Stitches.

I stepped out the door, her mittened hand in mine, and focused on the day ahead of us. I couldn’t bear to focus past that. The fear just worked that way for me.

* * *

I let outa laugh as Sirena tumbled over the massive snowball in her attempt to make it bigger. The thing had to outweigh her three to one. Her momentum in trying to push it only another inch had her rolling over the top and landing flat on her back on the other side with an audible huff of frustration.

I stopped rolling the middle portion of the snowman’s body and went to her.

She stared up at me, her dark hair a wild mess around her, her eyes wide and lips parted. The rosy red of her cheeks and the tip of her nose made me smile.

“Do you want help now?” I asked.

She’d brushed me off before when I offered and handed me a snowball as an indicator to get to work on my own. I’d done it, enjoying how she was taking charge. Now, it appeared she needed me.

With her bottom lip jutted out, she looked from me to her massive snowball before letting out a sigh and nodding.

Grinning, I went to it and gave it a push. I had to hand it to her. That damn thing was heavy. I was surprised she’d done as well as she had.

When I got it to the spot she indicated, she clapped her mittened hands together and grinned at me.

That made twinging my back worth it.

I gave her a wink and went back to rolling my ball. She wandered off and collected twigs for the arms and various other bits in the yard while I heaved the snowball onto the bottom portion. Taking a step back, I surveyed my work.

It was decent. Perfect, actually.

I looked around to see Sirena coming back toward me with her sticks and a few other things in her hands.

“What’s this?” I took one of the pinecones from her and eyed it before looking back to her.

She smiled and dropped the pile into the snow before starting another snowball. I watched, taking in how serious she was. Once she had the ball the size she wanted, she placed it beside the bottom portion and came back to me.

I helped her gather the items she’d gotten and held them while she used the pinecones for ears and broke others apart to create eyes and a small mouth.

She pushed a small limb into my hand, and I stuck it into the snowman's torso while she placed the other arm. We took a step back and surveyed our work.

“Not bad,” I murmured, drinking it in. “It’s a masterpiece.” I wound my arm around her waist.

After a moment, she turned to me and went up on her tiptoes. Her lips swept softly against mine, making me let out a contented sigh before she pulled away, her pretty eyes sparkling.

“What do you want to do now?” I asked, brushing a snowflake from her rosy cheek. I looked past her to the sky. It was getting dark, and the temperature was starting to fall even lower. Despite that, she wrapped her mitten around my gloved hand and gave me a gentle tug to follow her. I did without a moment’s hesitation.

I’d follow that girl to my very death, that much I was certain.

ASHES

“Let’s go do something,” Stitches said, coming into the house and shaking the snowflakes off him.

“What’s something?” I averted my attention from the show I was watching on TV and pulled my cherry vape out. I’d been trying to quit, but I knew I’d just smoke more weed if I did that. I supposed, in the long run, weed was better for me. At least, that’s what I’d been reading lately.

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